Factory farming’s toll on farmed animals, farmers and food security exposed in new ‘climate doom loop’ report

Climate Doom Loop: Factory Farming’s Toll on Animals, Farmers and Foodis published just as policymakers from around the world, including the UK, meet at the Climate Change Conference in Bonn. This critical moment will shape the agenda for COP30 and ultimately influence whether industrial animal agriculture continues to be propped up by subsidies or phased out.

To break the destructive loop, the report advises governments to substantially reduce livestock production, switch to more climate and nature-friendly farming practices, and ensure our food system aligns with planetary boundaries.

From heatwaves here in the UK to hurricanes in the US, flooding in Italy and Brazil and other extreme weather events across Europe, Asia and Africa, the report’s case studies – just a snapshot of the bigger picture – reveal that 14.8 million farmed animals have been killed as a direct result and 56.4 million people impacted, at an estimated global cost of $120 billion.

The report spotlights the huge suffering of farmed animals – many in cages who are left to drown in floods and suffocate in heatwaves when these increasingly common climate-linked disasters strike – whilst highlighting the major role industrial farming plays in driving climate change.

In the summer of 2022, the UK experienced five separate heatwaves periods, with the hottest day ever recorded on 19 July, when temperatures reached 40.3°C. The Government declared a national emergency following the Met Office’s first ever issuance of a red ‘extreme heat’ warning. This was a 1-in-1,000 year event, made 10 times more likely due to anthropogenic climate change.

The UK is inexperienced in mitigating extreme heat and “the conditions led to widespread suffering”. There were 2,985 excess deaths and 24,316 wildfires, leading to ecological consequences and wildlife habitat destruction.

It was confirmed that 18,500 chickens died in transport due to heat stress. On the day temperatures reached 40°C, 9,640 chickens died on route to slaughter. In addition, due to the extreme heat, UK chicken meat production was 9% lower in July 2022 than July 2021. Records also show that more than 25% of sites that kept cattle experienced heat stress, and the pig population was reduced by 10% due to the impact on pig fertility, farmers leaving the industry and negative farm margins.

Other disasters outlined in the report include:

• Vietnam, 2024: Over 5 million poultry, 44,000 cattle and thousands of pigs were killed by a typhoon.
• USA, 2024: An estimated 2-5 million chickens were killed by Hurricane Helene.
• Italy, 2023: Witnesses saw ‘piles of hundreds of dead pigs’, alongside other animals swimming for their lives, following flooding in Emilia-Romagna, the Italian region famous for Parma ham and Parmigiano cheese.
• France, 2023: 750,000 poultry died of suffocation and exhaustion during extreme heatwaves.

Food systems are responsible for a third of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The livestock sector – dominated by factory farming – produces more direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than all the world’s planes, trains and cars combined.* But with a growing global population, 200 leading climate, food and agriculture scientists refute sustainable intensification as a solution for reducing animal agriculture emissions. Most (90%) believe that reducing meat consumption – particularly in the Global North – is the most effective action.**

Anthony Field, Head of Compassion in World Farming UK, said: “Millions of farmed animals are killed each year by floods, storms and heatwaves driven by climate change, yet the very system they are reared in is making the situation worse. These increasingly common extreme weather events are also catastrophic for people, food security and farmers’ livelihoods. Simply put, we’re trapped in a doom loop.

“Governments must take urgent action to reduce emissions and livestock production as well as meat consumption in richer countries, whilst also establishing proper plans for climate resilience. Farmers must move away from cruel, unsustainable factory farming and towards responsible climate- and nature-friendly practices. Farmed animals, economies, and the food on our plates are all under serious threat – we must act now before it’s too late.”

Supporters are being asked to sign the END.IT petition calling for a sustainable food system that protects animals, people, and the planet.